Green Chile Chicken Tamales

Maranda of Jolts & Jollies was our January 2012 Daring Cooks hostess with the mostess! Maranda challenged us to make traditional Mexican Tamales as our first challenge of the year!

Firstly I need to apologise to Maranda, I made a massive mess of this challenge. Hopefully my epic fail wont set my standard for the rest of the Daring Kitchen, Daring Cooks’ Challenges this year.

When I first read the challenge I was really excited. I love Mexican food and I have been playing around with it a bit of late. The other bonus was that I had most of the ingredients, no specialty shopping needed. This was an added bonus as we had just returned back from holidays.

I actually have never come across a tamale in Sydney. I am sure you must be able to find them somewhere? (quick net search says Bodega & Flying Fajita Sisters?) They don’t grace your typical Mexican restaurant here.

What exactly is a tamale? Everyone has heard of the expression ‘hot tamale’. I had heard of them, seen them on cooking travel shows, but never eaten one. Tamales are a traditional Latin American dish, made with a masa dough. They can be filled with meats, cheese, fruits, vegetables anything basically. Wrapped in corn husks, they are then steamed or boiled.

I mentioned earlier that I made a bit of a mess of this challenge. Where did I go wrong? I had blue masa mix (blue corn tortilla mix) in the cupboard and decided to use that. May have not been a clever idea as the recipe used masa harina which is a yellow corn tortilla mix.

Then the recipe called for lard or vegetable shortening. I must admit when I read lard I shuddered slightly. Not due to the actual ingredient, but was the memory of my last attempt of using lard. That was a Daring Bakers’ Challenge, beef and oyster pudding, sadly that also ended up an epic fail. I decided to use Crisco which is a vegetable shortening. May not have been my right choice.

When I prepared the dough I didn’t have to add the suggested water as it was very soft, almost like a paste. I went ahead anyway. In retrospect I should of scrapped it and started again using less shortening, making it by feel.

The chicken filling on the other hand was a win. I made my stock from scratch and then used the chicken from that for the filling. The green chile sauce is fantastic, extremely tasty. I actually made double the amount due to using a big can of tomatillos. The excess sauce was used on tacos and other meals.

My tamales wrapped & ready to be steamed

My limp looking tamales after being in the steamer for 30 minutes

I didn’t source dried corn husks to wrap my tamales in. Instead I used baking paper. I do think that the use of corn husks would have aided in keeping the tamales firm, another mistake on my behalf.

Sadly it was the dough that let me down. Once tamales were steamed the dough became very short and was slightly grainy to taste. I am not going to repeat the comments the boys made about the look of them. They didn’t like them at all.

Sally and I were slightly more adventurous. I didn’t find them too bad. Yes the dough wasn’t the best, but I was happy to pick out my filling with a little of the crumbly short dough. Sally thought they were awesome and would of eaten them all if allowed.

My darling Sally waiting patiently (as she does) for some more tamales. (You can still see some of her war wounds from operation in December, sock covers her skin graft that still needs TLC)

For Maranda’s recipe and some decent pictures, please check out this link. If you are not interested in making the tamales, I still recommend you try the chicken filling for tacos, wraps or even sandwiches.

Due to the boys not liking them from their taste test in the kitchen, they didn’t actually make it to the dinner table. No fancy plated pictures, sorry.

Will I give them a go again, not sure. I would like to try them made by somebody who knows what they are doing. After that I will work out if I want to retry. When looking at Maranda’s pictures they do look awesome. The filling and the green chile sauce have both made it to my tried, tested and will make again file.

Have you ever had an epic fail in the kitchen where your family have turned their noses up at it, but you didn’t think it was that bad?

Sara xxx

Comments

Haha, somtimes I think its just as much fun when they fail! you then have to work out why it went wrong! I still think these look great. Mexican food in Australia and in the UK is seriously lacking.. good on you for giving it a go!Gary McCourt recently posted..NYE @ The Jenolan Caves

Hi Sarah. I think you guessed most of your mistakes already, and while I’m no tamale master either, I’ve had some good examples in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. You definitely need those dried corn husks – they’re the foundation of the tamales, and I can’t picture one without it. I think you’ve essentially made a “naked” tamale; picture a burrito without the tortilla.

The other is the lard. I would definitely recommend using lard for most Mexican recipes – not only for the texture, but also for the flavour. I’m not a fan of the supermarket version – better to buy some from your local butcher.

If you’re looking for the right ingredients, I highly recommend doing mail order from the top Mexican suppliers in Australia: Fireworks Foods (fireworksfoods.com.au) or Monterey Mexican Foods. I use the former, and they definitely carry tamale husks, and they’d be the best way to find the right kind of masa that you need, if it’s available in Australia. I’ve been the warehouse, and I’ve been amazed by the breath of products that they carry.

A shame these didn’t turn out, but a commendable effort nevertheless. There are a few places around Sydney that have tamales. You can also get them at La Paula in Fairfield – worth the trek just so you can have dulce de leche biscuits and three milk cake for dessert!Helen (grabyourfork) recently posted..Albee’s Kitchen, Campsie

Sorry to hear about what happen. To be honest I think it’s good to have mistakes, something to learn each time. What’s the point if there isn’t new learning in the kitchen? Lucky the filling was still good 🙂

I know what you mean, they’re not easy to find here are they? I got so excited when I saw them at Flying Fajita Sisters that I ordered one but they forgot to bring it! 🙁 What a shame that they didn’t work out but at least you gave it a go! 🙂Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Afternoon Tea At The Victoria Room Tea Salon, Sydney CBD

Hey Sara, good on you for trying I say! The stuffing sounds delisiouc and I will definitely be trying it for a burrito and sandwuch fillling. As far as lard goes, in Poland they sell the good stuff in regular supermarkets – a lot of stuff is fried with lard, but like Michael, I’d suggest going to your butcher’s.Martyna@WholesomeCook recently posted..15 minute hot and sour soup with sizzling beef

I’ve had these sorts of epic fails happen, especially when baking. When partway through the process you can already tell/feel that at least one thing is not quite right, but you’re so deep into the process and so motivated – by the possible end result, I suppose – that you plough on. I tried a cheesecake brownie recipe 3 times once, before I decided that it really was the recipe and not me nor my oven which were the problem! (And if you ever need a good cheesecake brownie recipe, make sure you use David Leibovitz’s one.)Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) recently posted..An experimental sous-vide dinner

It was a good attempt after all. I think corn husks do help with the sturdiness of the tamal, as well as the moisture and flavour. We use fresh or dried corn kernels for tamales in Peru, IMO they make a better “dough”, but I don’t think Australian sweet corn would work (too watery). Also, I’d suggest you use less stuffing next time.Gaby recently posted..Review: Wasabi Bistro

Hi Gary, thanks for your positive comments 🙂
Hi Michael, thanks for your tips, I do use Fireworks, they are awesome. Was being lazy and wanting to get straight on the challenge after being away, so didn’t order husks.
HI Helen, I am going to go give La Paula a try, thanks for the heads up!
Hi Julie, I agree, mistakes are good, that is why I am not afraid to share them.
Hi Chef_d, was a fun one, but agree with you not my best, practice I suppose.
Hi Lorraine, will give them a go at Helen’s recommendation.
Hi Martyna, I will be making the filling again and the sauce, that’s for sure
Hi Rita, I know what you mean, I should of scrapped it but kept on going.
Hi Gaby, Very interesting that you can use fresh corn kernels, but going with you suggestions.Sara recently posted..Mushroom & Prosciutto Canapé

A shame they didn’t work out this time but practice always makes perfect and judging from your previous posts, I know that you will get it right and they will be awesome. I have been intrigued by tamales for a while now and even have the masa waiting in the cupboard, but I have been too afraid to give it a go. Good on you for making these!Anna@ The Littlest Anchovy recently posted..Garlic Soup – Using my own garlic!

What a shame they didn’t turn out the way you hoped, but as Anna says, practice makes perfect. 🙂 I’ve never had a tamale before. I might have to research some vegetarian tamales.Jennifer (Delicieux) recently posted..Sesame & Cumin Lavosh

I’m one that hasn’t tried a tamale, even when I was in Mexico, but something tells me I’d like them. One day I just may give it a go!
Pity they didn’t come out as expected but there’s always next time!john@heneedsfood recently posted..It’s a Standard thing – Meatpacking, NYC

One of the few things I don’t like, tamales. I know some people are crazy for them and I have seen whole blogs dedicated to tamales.
I do like that you told us about your trials in making them 🙂 It happens to me often.Vintage Macaroon recently posted..Homemade Preserved Lemons

I had to laugh that after all that work they wouldn’t eat them. I would have done just as you did and eaten the delicious filling and sauce. They really do need a great Mexican restaurant in Sydney that serves tamales.

So sorry you weren’t excited by your results. I think the blue corn dough was an awesome idea, they look so fun! I used crisco in my dough, too, and mine turned out ok so I don’t think your problem was there. Great job, anyway!Jenni recently posted..The Daring Bakers Make Tamales!